Illinois State Police Targeting Distracted Driving

As of June 13, there has been a 21 percent increase in Illinois traffic accident fatalities this year, reported a local news station. The 21 percent increase is significantly greater than the nation-wide average increase in traffic accident fatalities of 11 percent.

Amidst increasing fatal car accidents on Illinois roadways, police are ramping up their efforts to both prevent and penalize negligent driving. Police departments across the state have been launching educational programs, while also attempting to raise awareness of the issue. For example, the District 13 Commander recently issued a statement warning Illinois drivers to avoid the “Fatal Four.” The Fatal Four are the four most common traffic violations, including “speeding, driving while under the influence, failure to wear a seatbelt, and distracted driving.”

When it comes to enforcement, Illinois police departments are backing up their statement. According to an article in the The Journal-Standard, police departments are instituting more hire-back and directed patrols, as well as construction zone enforcement. Hire-back patrols are conducted via the employment of overtime patrollers who target specific traffic violations. Directed patrols are almost identical to the former, but patrollers are simply not on overtime.
One specific goal of these patrols is to assure compliance with the laws passed in 2010 regarding the use of cellular devices in school and construction zones. However, distracted driving in general is the main target of such patrols, and our Chicago car accident lawyers understand the timely nature of such efforts. In our Chicago car accident lawyer blog we discuss many of the issues and complexities involved with distracted driving.

Other states have also recognized the need for action and have begun to institute similar efforts. Recently the federal government launched a pilot project aimed at reducing the incidence of distracted deriving. As reported by The Seattle Times, grants totaling 2.4 million dollars were provided to California and Delaware for them to implement the program.

As Illinois auto accident attorneys, we sincerely hope that these efforts curb the incidence of distracted driving, and resultantly, its potentially tragic consequences. Until the time when distracted driving is all but extinct, those injured or killed as a result of a distracted driver may have legal recourse available to them. To find out about what rights may be available to you, our Chicago auto accident lawyers are happy to offer their assistance.

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